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User blog:Alexa2007/Fifth Grade
Fifth grade is a major transition year for students. From beginning to grapple with pre-algebraic concepts to conducting research for essays, this is the year students enter the realm of deeper study in writing, reading, history, math, science and the arts. READING AND WRITING 1. Write different kinds of essays. You should write often, and in different forms—reports, descriptions, research essays, essays that explain a process, essays that persuade, and more. Make sure you understand the basic structure, with an introduction, body and conclusion. 2. Gather research from at least three sources. Choosing a topic and then pulling in information from a variety of sources such as encyclopedias, magazines, online sources and atlases is a crucial fifth grade skill. Learning how to synthesize information and summarize it—not simply copying the sources—is essential. You can also use an easy-to-follow anchor chart to help guide through the research process. 3. Dig into a novel. As independent readers, most fifth graders should be ready to read a meaty full-length novel, whether classics like The Secret Garden and Tom Sawyer or more contemporary fare—there are so many great choices! You can suggest titles from the many online lists like this one on Goodreads or this one on Greatschools of recommended novels for fifth graders. And students can go beyond the basic book report with these fun and creative activities. 4. Explore and use figurative language. You have to understand imagery, idioms, onomatopoeia, metaphors and similes. They are very essensial and fun. 5. Enjoy the language of poetry. Once you've learned about figurative language, you can start noticing how poets use devices such as simile, metaphor and alliteration. You can also have fun using figurative language in writing your own poems. 6. Grasp sentence structure. By fifth grade, you should understand and be able to identify a complete sentence, and to distinguish a sentence from a fragment. You should understand the concepts of subject and predicate. 7. Meet the Bard. All the world’s a stage, and the play’s the thing! So wrote the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare. You should learn about his significant impact on our language and society. The magical comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream provides a great introduction. The play is available in adaptations for young readers, and the Folger Shakespeare Library offers fun resources. The title page from an antique book of the plays of Shakespeare. GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY 8. Explore the world’s great lakes. You can probably name the world’s major oceans and some of the biggest rivers, but do they know about great lakes? Lakes serve as a habitat for many animals and provide water for drinking, irrigation, and hydroelectric power. Lakes are also valuable to people as travel routes and as sites for recreation. 9. Explore Mesoamerican history. You should learn about the great native cultures of Mesoamerica (Central and South America) before moving on to learn about European exploration of the Americas and the clash of cultures. 10. Explore the European backgrounds to American history. In the 1400s, Europeans set forth in a great wave of exploration and trade that eventually led to the Americas. You can benefit from learning about the social and religious movements that pushed Europeans across the Atlantic, including the Renaissance, Reformation, and England’s Golden Age and Glorious Revolution. Core Knowledge Language Arts provides free downloads for the Renaissance And the Reformation. 11. Delve into the Civil War. You should study the American Civil War and its causes, conflicts and consequences. You should compare and contrast the cultures and economies of the North and South, and learn about slavery and abolition. A pair of cannons at sunset on the Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, Maryland. ART AND MUSIC 12. Revel in the Renaissance. Studying the paintings and sculptures of Renaissance artists is a great way to integrate art and history in fifth grade. 13. Get a perspective on artworks. Renaissance artists introduced perspective—the illusion of depth in a flat painting or drawing. You can learn how foreground, background and the horizon line work, and you can have fun making your own perspective drawings. 14. Know fractions frontward and backward. Building on your work with fractions in previous grades, you should continue to solve problems with fractions and relate fractions to decimals and percentages. Three colored fraction die to use in elementary classrooms to teach math. 15. Master common factors and multiples. You should be able to identify the greatest common factor (GCF) and the least common multiple (LCM) of given numbers. 16. Determine and express simple ratios and percentages. Learning common equivalences between ratios, fractions, decimals and percentages is a key skill for fifth grade. 17. Deepen their knowledge of geometry. Calculate area. Use a compass to determine the diameter, radius and circumference of circles. Identify and measure angles. The fundamentals of geometry are essential, and the real-world applications of geometry are everywhere. 18. Dip toes into pre-algebra. Time to bring out the x’s! In this grade, you will be introduced to variables and solve basic equations using them. You will be able to find the value of an expression when tyou are given the replacement value for a variable (“What is 7–x if x is 3?”). 20. Learn the concepts of mean, median and mode. Building on probability, you will learn to define and differentiate between means, medians and modes in a series of numbers. 21. Understand probability. Using simple models, you should be able to express the probability of a given event as a fraction, percent and decimal. Dice games are an easy and effective way to predict outcomes and grasp probability math. SCIENCE 22. Learn the structure of cells. Understanding that all living things are made up of cells, you will learn the structure of cells, both plant and animal. Get out the microscopes and slides so you can see firsthand the membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm and organelles of different organisms’ cells. 23. Probe photosynthesis. This important life process not only allows plants to make their own food, it produces oxygen for us all. The simple activity of placing one plant in a dark room cupboard or closet and another of the same plant in sunlight, and you can effectively demonstrate the importance and concept of photosynthesis. 24. Explore the Periodic Table. You will be introduced to the concept of elements and how they are organized in the Periodic Table. Challenge yourself to memorize the symbols of well-known elements (such as H, He, C, N, O, Fe, Cu, Ag, Au), and try an online quiz. 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